YouTube blocked in China

New York, March 25,
2009--The Chinese government should disclose the legal basis for the sudden,
widespread inaccessibility of the video-sharing Web site YouTube, or it should restore
access to the site immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said
today.

Google, which owns YouTube, reported sharply declining
traffic within China
beginning on Monday, according to international news reports. Local users
continued to encounter error messages when trying to access YouTube on Wednesday,
according to international media and reports logged by individuals on Herdict, a BerkmanCenter for Internet and Society project
that tracks the global availability of Web sites.

Chinese government spokesmen would not confirm the blocking
when asked by reporters, news reports said. The extent of the apparent ban was
not immediately clear from published reports. Journalists and online
commentators said it affected most of the country. It was not known what video
footage may have prompted a shutdown.

The Global Network Initiative, a coalition of Internet
companies, academics, investors, and non-governmental organizations, including
CPJ, said the blocking was "inconsistent with the rule of law." More of the
Initiative's statement is on the CPJ
Blog.

"We are deeply concerned that millions of Chinese Internet
users have been deprived of an important information resource without being
told why," CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney said.
"The blocking of YouTube is a sign of escalating restrictions on media freedom
that we have witnessed this month in China. Authorities must explain why
YouTube is inaccessible."

Chinese officials often limit domestic access to
internationally hosted Web sites, including YouTube, that carry material
counter to government views, according to CPJ research. The March anniversary
of a failed uprising in Tibet,
and annual government meetings which took place in Beijing this month, have each prompted
YouTube closures in the past, according to a BBC report.

YouTube was shuttered for six days in March last year amid heavy
government restrictions on the reporting of ethnic rioting in Tibetan
areas, the BBC said. Many journalists believe new restrictions have targeted footage
appearing to show Chinese soldiers in uniform beating Tibetan monks. That
undated video had been posted by Tibetans outside China, news reports say. Chinese
state media criticized the video--without mentioning YouTube--by saying the
attacks had been faked.

Parallel annual sessions for China's top political bodies, the law-making
National People's Congress (NPC) and the advisory body, the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference, also took place earlier this month. The
period around the "two meetings," as they are known in China, is typically
one of strict information control. Access to YouTube was cut off for 14 days
during a 2007 NPC meeting, according to the BBC.